Q: Why has my paper not been assigned to an editor even after two weeks?
I receive the following feedback, what shall I do next?As two weeks have now passed since your manuscript's submission, we would like you to be informed that, unfortunately, due to the high volume of current submissions, none of the Associate Editors on our Editorial Board have been able to take this assignment so far. While it is possible that an Editor becomes available to handle this submission later on, we would like you to be aware that this may take some weeks. We regret that we have not been able to find a handling editor for your manuscript despite invitations to our entire editorial board. We are still trying to contact possible handling editors and shall shortly discuss your submission with the relevant Chief Editors and Editorial teams.
Unfortunately, the publication process is quite slow and delays are normal. It can be worse when the journal has to handle a huge volume of submissions. It is a good gesture on the part of the journal that they have informed you about the reason for the delay. However, since many weeks have passed after this and there is still no change in status, I think you should write to the journal immediately. Inquire what the current status is and how much longer it will take to assign an editor. If they are still unsure, you can consider withdrawing your paper and submitting it to another journal to avoid further waste of time.
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